December 18, 2012

Texas School District Has An Answer To Sandy Hook Violence

Topics:

The Harrold Independent School District in Texas has passed a policy change in an effort to increase safety for its students and staff and its a quick, common sense, solution to kind of violence that occurred at Sandy Hook School. The policy will allow teachers and other staff to carry concealed guns:

The school district, which has 110 students ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade, admitted to researching several options for better safety in the school and debated the issue for about a year before the final decision was made.

The policy was changed last October and will go into effect later this month. Teachers who wish to carry pistols will have to abide by certain safety standards which include a current Texas conceal carry license, authorization by the school district, as well as training in crisis management and hostile situations. In addition, they will be required to use ammunition that is specifically designed to reduce the risk of ricochet.

The school will not disclose how many of the 50 teachers will be carrying guns.

David Thweatt, Superintendent of the Harrold Independent School District, voiced his opinions to Fox News on gun violence in schools.

"When you make schools gun-free zones, it's like inviting people to come in and take advantage."

Thweatt also expressed his concern about the increasing anger that is now seen in society.

This is the logical direction that society ought to be moving, not a knee-jerk reaction of banning guns. Research has shown that concealed carry policies lead to a reduction in crime, not an increase ... and that the overwhelming majority of mass shootings take place where concealed carry permit holders are barred.

Recently, the FBI released its Uniform Crime Reports statistics and John Richardson has posted a new graph plotting these violent crime rates against the growth of less-restrictive firearm carry rights over the period of 1986 through 2011:

Must every tragic mass shooting bring out the shrill ignorance of "gun control" advocates?

The key fallacy of so-called gun control laws is that such laws do not in fact control guns. They simply disarm law-abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available.

If gun control zealots had any respect for facts, they would have discovered this long ago, because there have been too many factual studies over the years to leave any serious doubt about gun control laws being not merely futile but counterproductive.

Places and times with the strongest gun control laws have often been places and times with high murder rates. Washington, D.C., is a classic example, but just one among many.

When it comes to the rate of gun ownership, that is higher in rural areas than in urban areas, but the murder rate is higher in urban areas.

The rate of gun ownership is higher among whites than among blacks, but the murder rate is higher among blacks. For the country as a whole, handgun ownership doubled in the late 20th century, while the murder rate went down.

Sowell goes on to get right down to the heart of the issue: Guns are not the problem. People are the problem -- including people who are determined to push gun control laws, either in ignorance of the facts or in defiance of the facts. There is innocent ignorance and there is invincible, dogmatic and self-righteous ignorance. Every tragic mass shooting seems to bring out examples of both among gun control advocates.

The Harrold Independent School District in Texas has passed a policy change in an effort to increase safety for its students and staff and its a quick, common sense, solution to kind of violence that occurred at Sandy Hook School. The policy will allow teachers and other staff to carry concealed guns:

The school district, which has 110 students ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade, admitted to researching several options for better safety in the school and debated the issue for about a year before the final decision was made.\n\nThe policy was changed last October and will go into effect later this month. Teachers who wish to carry pistols will have to abide by certain safety standards which include a current Texas conceal carry license, authorization by the school district, as well as training in crisis management and hostile situations. In addition, they will be required to use ammunition that is specifically designed to reduce the risk of ricochet.\n\nThe school will not disclose how many of the 50 teachers will be carrying guns.\n\nDavid Thweatt, Superintendent of the Harrold Independent School District, voiced his opinions to Fox News on gun violence in schools.

\"When you make schools gun-free zones, it's like inviting people to come in and take advantage.\"

Thweatt also expressed his concern about the increasing anger that is now seen in society.

This is the logical direction that society ought to be moving, not a knee-jerk reaction of banning guns. Research has shown that concealed carry policies lead to a reduction in crime, not an increase ... and that the overwhelming majority of mass shootings take place where concealed carry permit holders are barred.\n\nRecently, the FBI released its Uniform Crime Reports statistics and John Richardson has posted a new graph plotting these violent crime rates against the growth of less-restrictive firearm carry rights over the period of 1986 through 2011:\n\n\n\nAnd Thomas Sowell aptly points out:

Must every tragic mass shooting bring out the shrill ignorance of \"gun control\" advocates?\n\nThe key fallacy of so-called gun control laws is that such laws do not in fact control guns. They simply disarm law-abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available.\n\nIf gun control zealots had any respect for facts, they would have discovered this long ago, because there have been too many factual studies over the years to leave any serious doubt about gun control laws being not merely futile but counterproductive.\n\nPlaces and times with the strongest gun control laws have often been places and times with high murder rates. Washington, D.C., is a classic example, but just one among many.\n\nWhen it comes to the rate of gun ownership, that is higher in rural areas than in urban areas, but the murder rate is higher in urban areas.\n\nThe rate of gun ownership is higher among whites than among blacks, but the murder rate is higher among blacks. For the country as a whole, handgun ownership doubled in the late 20th century, while the murder rate went down.